Warning: Surgery Delay Ahead!

First of all, I didn't fall off the face of the earth.  It's been over two months since my last post, which was not intentional and for that I apologize.  However, shortly after my last post, I got to experience the crippling pain of acute appendicitis on top of a diseased gallbladder.  I wasn't aware I had problems with either (looking back now, I can recognize the signs of the gallbladder issues that I wrote off)!  About fifteen hours after a middle-of-the-night run to the emergency room via ambulance, I was under the surgeon's knife to have both removed.

In a nutshell, I'm doing well, though recovery has been slow.  I found myself back in the ER ten days after surgery sick as a dog from what was determined as fluid back-up in my bile duct.  My immune system has been flushed down the toilet.  Antibiotics for an infected incision flared up my old yeast nemesis.  No picking up my two year-old.  Huge sensitivity to heat, which stinks (did I mention I live in Savannah, GA?  Heat is all we know!!).  However, this has given me amble time for research.  Doctors really don't tell you how much the gallbladder plays into your digestive system and where I never had a gallbladder attack prior to surgery, I have had several afterwards.  In a nutshell, my diet has had to change a lot!  Even though it will be eight weeks post-op tomorrow, there are still foods my system does not handle well.  The good news is that I've kept all my weight off (plus a few pounds), and am finally cleared to start exercising again.  Slowly, of course!  No yoga, Pilates, or any weight training for four more months, which is sad; I could use some yoga as I'm really stiff!  I walked a brisk mile tonight with light stretching afterwards, both of which I enjoyed a lot.  I've missed exercise and am eager to get back on a routine again.  Plus, getting back on a routine again again also means more blogging, which I am looking forward to as well... and admit it, you know you missed me! 

April Showers

It is raining... and raining... and raining more in Savannah.  What a wet spring we have had!  The good news is that we have gotten six months worth of rain in the last six weeks.  I'm ready for some sunshine!

My "clean-eating" went well from the beginning of March until Easter break; I juice fasted the first few days, and ended up being total vegetarian for the first two.  Honestly, I didn't miss the meat too much, but slowly started adding it back in.  I really didn't do any exercise at the beginning of the month, except for the occasional Pilates or yoga, as I was still in my six week rest period for my ankle.  The week before Easter, though, my neighbor asked me if I would start jogging with her, and now I'm jogging a slow 4-5 miles a week as she builds up her endurance, which has been great to slowly ease my ankle back into it.  Nary a twinge, which has been a blessing!  I pretty much maintained over the month at 220 due to the lack of exercise - of course, I lost a bunch while juice fasting, but that isn't lasting weight loss.  I'm just happy to learn that I can maintain and not gain when I'm not "dieting" hot and heavy.

We went out of town for the kids' spring break and Easter and it was an eye-opening for me.  I really never though we were that much of "health nuts", but after five days with family, and eating their style (which was how we used to eat - a lot!), all four of us were feeling the effects.  It is saddening to see how normal the SAD (standard American diet) is - lots of processed and chemical full food.  We were ready to get back to our veggie-based, flavorful, homemade food!  Jonathan has asked that we start to transition back to being gluten-free again, and I'll be taking the next couple of weeks to phase it into our kitchen.  He has continued to use Sensa, as well, and is starting to see results with that, which made me very happy!

While we were out of town, I was gifted with an entirely new wardrobe from my sister-in-law; I'm in heaven!  That was starting to become an issue for me, but I didn't have the money to replace much.  Now I have so many new and pretty things for both summer and winter, with a few pairs of pants that are a size too small, so I can work into fitting into them.  I'm a full size down in my tops - I'm wearing a regular large!  Still in a size 18 for jeans, but they are getting looser.

To end, I thought I'd throw out an annual comparison picture.  Happy days for me, indeed!  :)

An On-Purpose Opps

If you were to hang out at our house on Sunday nights, you would be expecting breakfast for supper.  Some weeks it is strawberry waffles, other nights it is blueberry pancakes or eggs, grits, and bacon.  The whole reason we do breakfast for supper is that I LOVE breakfast foods, but rarely have time to cook them (and then enjoy them!) in the mornings, so it's a happy medium.

Tonight was no exception, but on the menu was sausage, egg, and cheese biscuits.    I caved; I had fought off hamburgers for lunch, but the smell of fresh baked biscuits and frying sausage was too much.  So I had one, as well as a cup of coffee with real sugar and vanilla creamer.  It was delicous!  Well, it was delicious eating it.

Might I recommend NOT coming out of a five-day juicing feast with fatty protein, dairy, and simple carbs?  Within five minutes I was nauseous, within fifteen, I was in the bathroom.  Needless to say, I will go back to raw veggies, fresh juices, and veggie soups tomorrow.  Oy vey!

So Far, So Good!

Day Three is coming to an end, and so far, everything is going pretty well!  Today was my second day of just doing liquids (juices and soups) and my hunger pains are pretty much starting to diminish.  In fact, the detox part of this hasn't been nearly bad as it was last summer when I did a raw food diet with lean protein for six weeks.  I was dreading that part of it, but it hasn't been too bad.  I have caved the past two days and had about half a cup of black coffee, mostly to fight off the caffeine withdrawl headache, but even today's headache wasn't nearly as bad as it was yesterday.  The biggest thing I'm fighting is the desire to simply eat for the sake of eating!

I'm fighting horrid seasonal allergies right now, which isn't making this any easier, but it some ways it is.  I should be just drinking juices, broths, and soups, and spending extra time resting, so it's nice to have an excuse.  And I never need an excuse to have an extra long soak in the tub in the evening!  Of course, I'm adding some Epsom salts right now, so my skin is super soft; I think I need to start adding them to every bath.

Dinner time hasn't been as difficult as I expected it to be, so far at least.  I've been hitting up some vegetable broth and sipping on that as I eat, and then start juicing up my veggies when the family sits down to eat.  My biggest complaint (and then at at breakfast) is that the moment I finish making the juice, they all want to drink it!  I nearly cried this evening when Ethan took the partial cup I'd given him and dumped it onto the floor because he didn't like it.  Juicing on a budget is a challenge and I hate seeing it wasted.

I'll try to post another update at the end of day five, so stay tuned for more!

Day One Is About Begin!

Tomorrow begins the start of a the kill-the-yeast trial - yeehaw!  I made sure to prep my meals for breakfast and lunch, and took some before pictures, as well as drank a cup of coffee and eat a slice of cheesecake!  I did forewarn my colleagues that I will be doing this and asked them to bear with me for the next few days as my body adjusts.  Tomorrow will look like this, and Thursday will look pretty similar as well as I start prepping my body for a liquid fast:

Wake Up:  My usual 12-16 ounces of warm water with a tablespoon of lemon juice
Breakfast:  Fresh apple/pear/ginger juice and green tea
Mid-Morning:  A piece of fruit
Lunch:  Cabbage & Carrot Salad with homemade Orange Ginger dressing
Afternoon:  Grape or apple juice
Evening:  Cucumber & Tomato Salad, Spicy V-8 Veggie Broth Soup
...and lots and lots of water all day!  I do drink 8 ounces of water before I drink a fresh juice - having it "diluted" on my stomach is easier on my digestive system.  For some reason carrot juice irritates my stomach more than others, so I rarely drink it (or if I do, it is just a small amount in a larger batch of juice).

Prepping breakfast & lunch

What the real me looks like in my not-so-forgiven yoga clothes

 

Side View

I will weigh in the morning, as well as every day to make sure I don't lose too much too fast.  I'm not 100% sure of my actual weight right now (I only weight once a week), as I am due to start my cycle by the end of the week, and it's very normal for me to 4-6 pounds more than I usually do at this point!

Bring on the raw foods and fresh juices!  :)

The Beast Rears Its Ugly Head... Again

Before you start reading this, I'm going to warn you that there may be a few TMI (Too Much Information) bits in here, so skip to the end if medical talk makes you queasy.  That being said, some of you know that within a few months of giving birth to Ethan, I was diagnosed with Systemic Candidiasis, which is basically an full-blown overgrowth of yeast throughout your entire body.  Typically, this is only found in people with compromised immune systems, and though I was tested up and down for any of those (which I do not have), I still have it.

Upon the diagnosis, my doctor put me on a strict yeast-killing diet; no dairy, no fruit, no starches, no sugar, no coffee... just veggies and lean proteins for six weeks, along with super-duper probiotics.  It was difficult; especially the first few days - yeast die-off is an agonizing detox!  However, after the first four-to-five days, things started changing.  My energy level shot up as the chronic fatigue decreased, my skin cleared up, the fungal infections I struggled with everywhere (and not just in areas you think of when someone struggles with yeast overgrowth) cleared up, my anxiety/anger issues decreased, I could think and function more clearly, I could drop weight with ease when I dieted... it was amazing!

Fast forward two years and I am having more and more frequent flare-ups.  There are three oral prescriptions in my bathroom, as well as two prescription creams that I have to use to eliminate the infections with they hit.  And not just vaginal... in fact, I've only had that issue once.  No, for me, I get skin infections, fungal issues in my nailbeds and ear canals, horrible thrush, fatigue, anxiety, weight gain, and depression.  If I have to an antibiotic for something, I normally spend at least two weeks taking Diflucan everyday.  But now I'm seeing one symptom or another rear its ugly head every four-to-six weeks.

I am miserable.

Since my last post, I've developed thrush, ear infections, and have gain a pound and a half.  I am exhausted, but having issues sleeping.  And after almost a year of fighting off the symptoms, I am ready to fight the root of the problem again - my diet.  We are going on a mini-vacation for the next few days, but starting Tuesday (or Wednesday, if I don't get a chance to grocery shop Monday night), I will be eating raw foods for two days, then transitioning into a juice fast for 7-10 days, then back to raw foods for a few days, and gradually adding back high nutrient foods (legumes, seeds, nuts) with occasional lean protein and starches.  I've done prolonged liquid fasts before (the longest I have done was thirty days), but that was before marriage and kids, so it will be shorter and a bit more challenging, as I will be cooking for them, too!

I want to try to post daily (or every other day) during my liquid fasting time, to record it, and to keep me accountable.  Wish me luck and you will hear from me soon!

Another 10 Pounds Bite the Dust

I don't have time for a long post, but I am finally under 220 pounds - at 219.6, to be exact.  Happy, happy day!  Makes for 26.4 pounds down since July… and I owe myself a new pair of pants for knocking off another ten pounds.  :)

A New Year Begins!

On Monday, July 9, 2012, I stepped on my scale to weight myself, which I had not done in awhile.  I knew I'd gained weight over the spring; transitioning to working full-time and coming off of a medication that helped manage my postpartum depression had led to me seeking a lot of emotional comfort in the fridge and pantry.  My clothes were barely fitting (I'd even had to go to Goodwill a couple of times to buy a pair of jeans that I could actually zip), my face was broken out, and I was tired all the time.  However, I was not prepared for what the scale registered.

246 pounds.

I was horrified.  Since Emily was born, I've fluxed around 230 pounds.  Yet 246 pounds was a number that stuck in my head because that is what I weighed in at the morning Ethan was born... six hours BEFORE I delivered him.  That day, I signed up for Weight Watchers, and it began my most recent weight-loss journey.

This recent weight-loss journey has NOT been what I've expected it to be.  My goal is to eventually get down to 160 pounds, and to make 86 pounds be a little less daunting, I've made smaller goals.  Even with small goals, the weight has not come off like I'd wanted it to.  What I expected to be a sprint has turned into a marathon.  I had thought that the weight would come off easily, and the first few did, as it has in the past when I've dieted (such as two to three pounds a week), but after that initial weight loss, the scale crawled.  Fast weight loss has not happened, and it has been a struggle against discouragement to press on when the scale only reflects a meager loss week by week.  Other things have slammed into my plans, as well.  I had to stop WW in October due to some financial changes to our budget.  This fall I had an evil UTI and the two rounds of antibiotics to treat it flared up my ugly friend, systemic candidasis, which wrecks havoc on my body and causes horrible weight gain, a resistant metabolism, and other yucky side effects.  But from the first of July to the end of December, I've lost 17 pounds, for an average of .68 pounds a week.  Each pound has been a battle, and where I was trying for an even 20 pound loss by the end of 2012, I am very happy with what I've done.

But only losing 17 pounds in six months, while a bit depressing on the fact that it may take me another two years to take off the weight I need to, has been a great start to meeting my goals.  I started this journey not wanting it to be just a fad diet, taking off 30 pounds and a year from now, weighing 40 more pounds, but to be a full lifestyle change.  Healthy habits have and continue to be laid!  The good things that have happened since July:

• I now exercise almost daily, sometimes twice a day.
• I can jog for 9-10 minutes at time now, take a 2-3 minute walking break, then jog again.  Currently, I'm jogging 2 miles 3-4 times a week, and am working up to 3 miles.
• My jean size has gone from a women's size 20 to a misses size 18.
• I've lost inches all over, including three inches from my waistline.
• By doing yoga or Pilates most evenings, the kids join me and thus are having more active time.
• In general, we are eating more simple and more health dishes with a lot less sugar, salt, and simple carbohydrates.
• I have much more energy, clearer skin, sleep better, and seem to handle stress more appropriately. 

Thank you for joining me on this journey, and for joining me on my next step!  I'm trying for 215 pounds by the end of March... wish me luck!